CN111345845A

CN111345845A - Method and system for increasing effective linear density of volume composite ultrasonic image

Info

Publication number: CN111345845A
Application number: CN201911301221.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 海因茨·施米德; 赫尔穆特·布兰德尔
Original assignee: General Electric Co
Current assignee: General Electric Co
Priority date: 2018-12-21
Filing date: 2019-12-17
Publication date: 2020-06-30
Anticipated expiration: 2039-12-17
Also published as: US20200196991A1; CN111345845B; US11540812B2

Abstract

The present invention provides systems and methods for increasing the effective line density of a volumetric composite ultrasound image while maintaining frame rate, depth of penetration, and other image characteristics. The method includes acquiring a first lateral plane at a first elevated position. The first lateral plane includes a first set of receive lines located at a first set of lateral positions. The method includes acquiring a second lateral plane at a second elevated position adjacent to the first elevated position. The second lateral plane includes a second set of receive lines at a second set of lateral positions laterally offset from the first set of lateral positions. The method includes combining the first and second lateral planes to generate a composite image, and presenting the composite image at a display system. The composite image may be a volumetric composite image in the a-plane generated based on a volumetric composite imaging rendering algorithm.

Description

Method and system for increasing effective linear density of volume composite ultrasonic image

Technical Field

Certain embodiments relate to ultrasound imaging. More particularly, certain embodiments relate to a method and system for increasing the effective line density of a volumetric composite ultrasound image while maintaining frame rate, depth of penetration, and other image characteristics.

Background

Ultrasound imaging is a medical imaging technique for imaging organs and soft tissue in the human body. Ultrasound imaging uses real-time, non-invasive high frequency sound waves to produce two-dimensional (2D) images and/or three-dimensional (3D) images.

Ultrasound Volume Composite Imaging (VCI) involves acquiring multiple scan-converted B-mode images in the elevation direction and combining the B-mode images using a VCI rendering algorithm to generate a volume rendered image. Fig. 1 shows an exemplary volume 10, the volume 10 having receive line 14 locations in a plurality of lateral planes 12 along a lifting direction, the receive line 14 locations processed to generate B-mode images for use in VCI, as is known in the art. Referring to fig. 1, each of the lateral planes 12 in the elevation direction includes a plurality of receiving lines 14. The receive lines 14 of each lateral plane 12 are laterally aligned such that the partially transparent rendering algorithm visualizes the receive lines 14 of the first lateral plane 12 primarily in the direction of the parallel projection rendering view.

Fig. 2 illustrates exemplary receive line 24 locations in a plurality of lateral planes 22 along a height direction acquired using multiline acquisition (MLA)20, as is known in the art. Referring to fig. 2, four (4) receive lines 24 are acquired for each transmit beam 26. As shown in fig. 2, each of the lateral planes 22 in the elevation direction includes a plurality of receiving lines 24. The receiver lines 24 of each lateral plane 22 are laterally aligned. Thus, similar to fig. 1, application of the partially transparent rendering algorithm will visualize the receive lines 24 of the first lateral plane 22 primarily in the direction of the parallel projection rendering view.

Conventional VCI acquisition involves a tradeoff between frame rate and line density. For example, line density is typically increased by increasing the number of lines, which reduces the frame rate. As another example, the frame rate is typically increased by reducing the number of lines, which reduces the line density.

Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with some aspects of the present disclosure as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention provides a system and/or method for increasing the effective line density of a volumetric composite ultrasound image while maintaining frame rate, depth of penetration, and other image characteristics, substantially as shown in and/or described in connection with at least one of the figures, as set forth more completely in the claims.

These and other advantages, aspects, and novel features of the present disclosure, as well as details of an illustrated embodiment thereof, will be more fully understood from the following description and drawings.

Drawings

Fig. 1 shows an exemplary volume having receive line positions in multiple lateral planes along a rise direction, which are processed to generate B-mode images for use in Volumetric Composite Imaging (VCI), as is known in the art.

Fig. 2 illustrates exemplary receive line positions in multiple lateral planes along the elevation direction acquired using multiline acquisition (MLA), as is known in the art.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary ultrasound system operable to increase the effective line density of a volumetric composite ultrasound image while maintaining frame rate, depth of penetration, and other image characteristics, in accordance with various embodiments.

Fig. 4 illustrates an exemplary volume having receive line positions in multiple lateral planes along a lifting direction that are processed to generate B-mode images for use in Volumetric Composite Imaging (VCI), according to various embodiments.

Fig. 5 illustrates exemplary receive line positions in multiple lateral planes along a height direction acquired using multiline acquisition (MLA), in accordance with various embodiments.

Fig. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating exemplary steps for increasing the effective line density of a volumetric composite ultrasound image while maintaining frame rate, depth of penetration, and other image characteristics, in accordance with various embodiments.

Detailed Description

Certain embodiments may be found in a method and system for providing a volumetric composite image in the a-plane. Various embodiments have the technical effect of increasing the effective line density of a volumetric composite ultrasound image while maintaining frame rate, depth of penetration, and other image characteristics.

The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of certain embodiments, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. To the extent that the figures illustrate diagrams of the functional blocks of various embodiments, the functional blocks are not necessarily indicative of the division between hardware circuitry. Thus, for example, one or more of the functional blocks (e.g., processors or memories) may be implemented in a single piece of hardware (e.g., a general purpose signal processor or a block of random access memory, hard disk, or the like) or multiple pieces of hardware. Similarly, the programs may be stand alone programs, may be incorporated as subroutines in an operating system, may be functions in an installed software package, and the like. It should be understood that the various embodiments are not limited to the arrangements and instrumentality shown in the drawings. It is to be further understood that the embodiments may be combined, or that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural, logical, and electrical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the various embodiments. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

As used herein, an element or step recited in the singular and proceeded with the word "a" or "an" should be understood as not excluding plural said elements or steps, unless such exclusion is explicitly recited. Furthermore, references to "exemplary embodiments," "various embodiments," "certain embodiments," "representative embodiments," etc., are not intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate the recited features. Furthermore, unless explicitly stated to the contrary, embodiments "comprising," "including," or "having" an element or a plurality of elements having a particular property may include additional elements not having that property.

In addition, as used herein, the term "image" broadly refers to both a viewable image and data representing a viewable image. However, many embodiments generate (or are configured to generate) at least one viewable image. Further, as used herein, the phrase "image" is used to refer to an ultrasound mode, such as a B-mode (2D mode), an M-mode, a three-dimensional (3D) mode, a CF mode, PW doppler, MGD, and/or sub-modes of B-mode and/or CF, such as Volume Complex Imaging (VCI), Shear Wave Elastography (SWEI), TVI, Angio, B-flow, BMI _ Angio, and in some cases MM, CM, TVD, CM, where "image" and/or "plane" includes a single beam or multiple beams.

Further, as used herein, the term processor or processing unit refers to any type of processing unit that can perform the required computations required by the various embodiments, such as single core or multi-core: a CPU, an Accelerated Processing Unit (APU), a graphics board, a DSP, an FPGA, an ASIC, or a combination thereof.

It should be noted that various embodiments of generating or forming images described herein may include processes for forming images that include beamforming in some embodiments, and do not include beamforming in other embodiments. For example, the image may be formed without beamforming, such as by multiplying a matrix of demodulated data by a matrix of coefficients, such that the product is an image, and wherein the process does not form any "beams. In addition, the formation of an image may be performed using a combination of channels (e.g., synthetic aperture techniques) that may result from more than one transmit event.

In various embodiments, for example, sonication is performed in software, firmware, hardware, or a combination thereof to form an image, including ultrasound beamforming, such as receive beamforming. Figure 3 illustrates one particular implementation of an ultrasound system having a software beamformer architecture formed in accordance with various embodiments.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary ultrasound system 100 operable to increase the effective line density of a volumetric composite ultrasound image while maintaining frame rate, depth of penetration, and other image characteristics, in accordance with various embodiments. Referring to fig. 3, an ultrasound system 100 is shown. The ultrasound system 100 includes a transmitter 102, an ultrasound probe 104, a transmit beamformer 110, a receiver 118, a receive beamformer 120, an RF processor 124, an RF/IQ buffer 126, a user input module 130, a signal processor 132, an image buffer 136, a display system 134, and an archive 138.

The transmitter 102 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to drive the ultrasound probe 104. The ultrasound probe 104 may comprise a two-dimensional (2D) array of piezoelectric elements, or may be a mechanical one-dimensional (1D) array, or the like. The ultrasound probe 104 may include a set of transmit transducer elements 106 and a set of receive transducer elements 108 that generally constitute the same elements. In certain embodiments, the ultrasound probe 104 is operable to acquire ultrasound image data covering at least a substantial portion of an anatomical structure, such as a heart, a fetus, or any suitable anatomical structure.

The transmit beamformer 110 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to control the transmitter 102, the transmitter 102 driving the set of transmit transducer elements 106 through the transmit sub-aperture beamformer 114 to transmit ultrasonic transmit signals into a region of interest (e.g., a human, an animal, a subsurface cavity, a physical structure, etc.). The transmitted ultrasound signals may be backscattered from structures in the object of interest, such as blood cells or tissue, to generate echoes. The echoes are received by the receiving transducer elements 108.

A set of receive transducer elements 108 in the ultrasound probe 104 are operable to convert the received echoes to analog signals, sub-aperture beamformed by a receive sub-aperture beamformer 116, and then transmitted to a receiver 118. The receiver 118 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to receive signals from the receive sub-aperture beamformer 116. The analog signals may be communicated to one or more of the plurality of a/D converters 122.

The plurality of a/D converters 122 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to convert analog signals from the receiver 118 to corresponding digital signals. A plurality of a/D converters 122 are disposed between the receiver 118 and the RF processor 124. The present disclosure is not limited in this respect, though. Thus, in some embodiments, multiple a/D converters 122 may be integrated within receiver 118.

The RF processor 124 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to demodulate digital signals output by the plurality of a/D converters 122. According to one embodiment, the RF processor 124 may include a complex demodulator (not shown) operable to demodulate the digital signals to form I/Q data pairs representative of corresponding echo signals. The RF or I/Q signal data may then be passed to an RF/IQ buffer 126. The RF/IQ buffer 126 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to provide temporary storage of RF or I/Q signal data generated by the RF processor 124.

The receive beamformer 120 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to perform digital beamforming processing to, for example, delay and sum channel signals received from the RF processor 124 via the RF/IQ buffer 126 and output a beamformed line. In various embodiments, the one or more receive beamformers 120 are configured to generate a series of lateral planes that are adjacent in the elevation direction. Each of the lateral planes may include a set of receive lines at a set of lateral positions defined by the delays applied to the receive signals by the receive beamformer 120. The delays applied by the receive beamformer 120 may be configured such that at least two sets of lateral positions are applied alternately to generate each set of receive lines. For example, the two sets of lateral positions may include a first set of lateral positions and a second set of lateral positions offset by a one-half (1/2) pitch line shift. In such examples, the receive beamformer 120 generates a first set of receive lines corresponding to a first lateral plane having a first set of lateral positions and a second set of receive lines corresponding to a second lateral plane having a second set of lateral positions offset by one-half (1/2) pitch line shift. The delays applied by the receive beamformer 120 to additional planes in the volume may alternate between a first delay corresponding to a first set of lateral positions and a second delay corresponding to a second set of lateral positions. In some embodiments, different line shifting pitches may be applied based at least in part on the delays applied by the receive beamformer 120. For example, a one-third (1/3) pitch line shift may be applied to a series of every three (3) lateral planes, a one-fourth (1/4) pitch line shift may be applied to a series of every four (4) lateral planes, and so on. The resulting processed information may be the beam sum receive lines output from the receive beamformer 120 and passed to the signal processor 132. According to some embodiments, the receiver 118, the plurality of a/D converters 122, the RF processor 124, and the beamformer 120 may be integrated into a single beamformer, which may be digital. In some embodiments, the receive beamformer 120 may be a multiline beamformer configured to generate a plurality of receive lines in response to each single transmit beam. The multiline receive beamformer 120 may apply delays, parallel filtering, and combine the channel signals to produce steered and focused lines according to different sets of lateral positions. In various embodiments, the receive beamformer may be configured to apply Retrospective Transmit Beamforming (RTB) to provide dynamic receive focusing and to align receive lines according to different sets of lateral positions using time delays calculated from a probe geometry used to acquire ultrasound data.

Fig. 4 illustrates an exemplary volume 200, the volume 200 having receive

line positions

212, 222 in multiple

lateral planes

210, 220 along a lifting direction, the receive

line positions

212, 222 processed to generate B-mode images for use in Volumetric Composite Imaging (VCI), according to various embodiments. Referring to fig. 4, each of the

lateral planes

210, 220 in the elevation direction includes a plurality of receiving

lines

212, 222. The receive

lines

212, 222 of alternating

lateral planes

210, 220 are laterally offset by one-half (1/2) pitch line shift to provide increased visualization of the receive lines 222 in the second lateral plane 220 in the parallel projection rendering viewing direction to increase the effective line density of the composite image generated from the volume 10 using the partially transparent rendering algorithm.

Fig. 5 illustrates exemplary receive

line locations

312, 322 in multiple

lateral planes

310, 320 along a height direction acquired using multi-line acquisition (MLA)300, according to various embodiments. Referring to fig. 5, four (4) receive

lines

312, 322 are acquired for each transmit

beam

314, 324. As shown in fig. 5, each of the

lateral planes

310, 320 in the elevation direction includes a plurality of receiving

lines

312, 322. The receive

lines

312, 322 of each

lateral plane

310, 320 are laterally offset by one-half (1/2) pitch line shift to provide increased visualization of the receive lines 322 in the second lateral plane 320 in the parallel projection rendering viewing direction to increase the effective line density of the composite image generated using the partially transparent rendering algorithm. Although the transmit beam 324 used to acquire the receive beam 322 in the second lateral plane 320 is shown offset from the transmit beam 314 used to acquire the receive beam 312 in the first lateral plane 310, unless otherwise noted, the transmit

beams

314, 324 are not necessarily offset and may be aligned in various embodiments. Rather, the receive beamformer 120 may be configured to generate receive

lines

312, 314 at different sets of lateral positions in different

lateral planes

310, 320 as described above.

Referring again to fig. 3, the user input module 130 may be used to input patient data, scan parameters, settings, select protocols and/or templates, select imaging modes, and the like. In an exemplary embodiment, the user input module 130 is operable to configure, manage and/or control the operation of one or more components and/or modules in the ultrasound system 100. In this regard, the user input module 130 may be operable to configure, manage and/or control operation of the transmitter 102, ultrasound probe 104, transmit beamformer 110, receiver 118, receive beamformer 120, RF processor 124, RF/IQ buffer 126, user input module 130, signal processor 132, image buffer 136, display system 134 and/or archive 138. User input module 130 may include buttons, rotary encoders, touch screens, motion tracking, voice recognition, mouse devices, keyboards, cameras, and/or any other device capable of receiving user instructions. In some embodiments, for example, one or more of the user input modules 130 may be integrated into other components (such as the display system 134). As one example, the user input module 130 may include a touch screen display.

The signal processor 132 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to process the ultrasound scan data (i.e., the summed IQ signals) to generate an ultrasound image for presentation on the display system 134. The processor 132 is operable to perform one or more processing operations according to a plurality of selectable ultrasound modalities on the acquired ultrasound scan data. In an exemplary embodiment, the signal processor 132 is operable to perform compounding, such as Volumetric Compounding Imaging (VCI), highly compounding imaging (ECI), and the like. As echo signals are received, acquired ultrasound scan data may be processed in real-time during a scan session. Additionally or alternatively, the ultrasound scan data may be temporarily stored in the RF/IQ buffer 126 during a scan session and processed in a less real-time manner in online or offline operation. In various implementations, the processed image data may be presented at display system 134 and/or may be stored at archive 138. Archive 138 may be a local archive, Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS), or any suitable device for storing images and related information. In an exemplary embodiment, the signal processor 132 may include a volume scan converter 140 and a volume rendering processor 150.

The archive 138 may be one or more computer-readable memories integrated with the ultrasound system 100 and/or communicatively coupled (e.g., over a network) to the ultrasound system 100, such as a Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS), a server, a hard disk, a floppy disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD, a compact memory, a flash memory, a random access memory, a read-only memory, an electrically erasable and programmable read-only memory, and/or any suitable memory. The archive 138 may include, for example, a database, library, information set, or other memory accessed by the signal processor 132 and/or incorporated into the signal processor 132. For example, the archive 138 can store data temporarily or permanently. The archive 138 may be capable of storing medical image data, data generated by the signal processor 132, and/or instructions readable by the signal processor 132, among others. In various embodiments, for example, the archive 138 stores medical image data, receive line side positioning beamforming instructions, and volume rendering processing instructions.

The ultrasound system 100 is operable to continuously acquire ultrasound scan data at a frame rate appropriate for the imaging situation under consideration. Typical frame rates are in the range of 20-70, but may be lower or higher. The acquired ultrasound scan data may be displayed on the display system 134 at the same or slower or faster display rate as the frame rate. An image buffer 136 is included for storing processed frames of acquired ultrasound scan data that are not scheduled for immediate display. Preferably, the image buffer 136 has sufficient capacity to store at least several minutes of frames of ultrasound scan data. The frames of ultrasound scan data are stored in a manner that facilitates retrieval according to their order or time of acquisition. The image buffer 136 may be embodied as any known data storage medium.

The signal processor 132 may comprise the volumetric scan converter 140, and the volumetric scan converter 140 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to create a data slice from the receive

lines

212, 222, 312, 322 of the plurality of adjacent

lateral planes

210, 220, 310, 320 based at least in part on the selected or default slice thickness. For example, in a VCI imaging mode, the slice thickness may be 1-20 millimeters, which is approximately 2-40 planes at 2-3 planes per millimeter. As another example, in an ECI imaging mode, the slice thickness may be 1 millimeter or less (e.g., 2 planes). The slice thickness may be a default thickness corresponding to the imaging mode selected via the user input module 130. Additionally or alternatively, the slice thickness may be selected via the user input module 130. The number of adjacent

lateral planes

210, 220, 310, 320 acquired to form each data slice may depend on the selected thickness. The created data slices may be provided to a volume rendering processor 150 and/or stored in the archive 138 or any suitable data storage medium.

The signal processor 132 may comprise a volume rendering processor 150, the volume rendering processor 150 comprising suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to receive data slices from the volume scan converter 140 or the archive 138 and perform volume rendering on the data slices. For example, the volume rendering processor 150 may be configured to apply a rendering algorithm configured to process data slices having

lateral planes

210, 220, 310, 320 comprised of laterally offset receive

lines

212, 222, 312, 322 by applying weights to the different

lateral planes

210, 220, 310, 320 based on the nodal line shifts. In an exemplary embodiment, the rendering algorithm is a VCI rendering algorithm. Additionally or alternatively, the volume rendering processor 150 may apply an ECI or any suitable rendering algorithm based on the selected imaging mode. The volume rendering processor 150 may be configured to generate a composite image in the a-plane. The volume rendering processor 150 may be configured to render the composite image at the display system 134 and/or store the composite image at the archive 138 and/or any suitable data storage medium. In some embodiments, the signal processor 132 may be configured to apply video processing and/or other post-processing to the composite image prior to rendering at the display system 134 and/or storing the composite image at the archive 138 and/or any suitable data storage medium.

Display system 134 may be any device capable of communicating visual information to a user. For example, the display system 134 may include a liquid crystal display, a light emitting diode display, and/or any suitable display or displays. The display system 134 is operable to display information from the signal processor 132 and/or the archive 138, such as a volumetric composite image and/or any suitable information. In various embodiments, the display system 134 is operable to present a volumetric composite image based on B-mode images generated from a plurality of

lateral planes

210, 220, 310, 320 along the elevation direction, each lateral plane having a set of receive

lines

212, 222, 312, 322 at a set of lateral positions, wherein the lateral positions of the receive

lines

212, 222, 312, 322 of adjacent

lateral planes

210, 220, 310, 320 are laterally offset by a pitch line shift.

The components of the ultrasound system 100 may be implemented in software, hardware, firmware, etc. The various components of the ultrasound system 100 may be communicatively connected. The components of the ultrasound system 100 may be implemented separately and/or integrated in various forms. For example, the display system 134 and the user input module 130 may be integrated as a touch screen display.

Fig. 6 is a flow diagram 400 illustrating

exemplary steps

402 and 410 for increasing the effective line density of a volumetric composite ultrasound image while maintaining frame rate, depth of penetration, and other image characteristics, in accordance with various embodiments. Referring to fig. 6, a flowchart 400 is shown that includes exemplary steps 402 through 410. Certain embodiments may omit one or more steps, and/or perform steps in a different order than the order listed, and/or combine certain steps discussed below. For example, some steps may not be performed in certain embodiments. As another example, certain steps may be performed in a different temporal order than listed below, including concurrently.

At step 402, the ultrasound probe 104 is positioned to acquire ultrasound data in a region of interest. The ultrasound data includes a series of

lateral planes

210, 220, 310, 320 that are adjacent in the elevation direction. For example, the 2D matrix array ultrasound transducer 104 or the 1D array mechanical transducer may be positioned to acquire ultrasound data in a region of interest (e.g., a fetus, a heart, or any suitable anatomical structure).

At step 404, the ultrasound system 100 acquires the first

lateral plane

210, 310 at the first elevated position. The first

lateral plane

210, 310 includes a first set of receive

lines

212, 312 at a first set of lateral positions. For example, the receive beamformer 120 may delay and sum channel signals corresponding to echoes received at the ultrasound probe 104 to output a first set of receive

lines

212, 312 at a first set of lateral positions. The receive beamformer 120 may be a multiline receive beamformer and/or receive

lines

212, 312 that may be configured to apply RTB to provide focusing and steering at a first set of lateral positions in the first

lateral plane

210, 310.

At step 406, the ultrasound system 100 acquires a second

lateral plane

220, 320 at a second elevated position adjacent to the first elevated position. The second

lateral plane

220, 320 includes a second set of receive

lines

222, 322 at a second set of lateral positions laterally offset from the first set of lateral positions. For example, the receive beamformer 120 may delay and sum channel signals corresponding to echoes received at the ultrasound probe 104 to output a second set of receive

lines

222, 322 at a second set of lateral locations. The delays applied by the receive beamformer 120 to acquire the set of receive

lines

222, 322 at the second set of lateral positions may be different than the delays applied at step 404 to acquire the first set of receive

lines

212, 312 and the first set of lateral positions such that the second set of lateral positions includes a lateral line shift pitch, such as one-half (1/2), one-third (1/3), one-fourth (1/4) pitch, and so on. The receive beamformer 120 may be a multiline receive beamformer and/or receive

lines

222, 322 that may be configured to apply RTB to provide focusing and steering at a second set of lateral positions in the second

lateral plane

220, 320.

The process may repeat steps 404 and/or 406 until the appropriate number of

lateral planes

210, 220, 310, 320 are obtained. For example, the ultrasound system 100 may acquire 2-40 planes. The receive beamformer 120 may be configured to apply delays corresponding to default or selected nodal line shifts. For example, a half (1/2) pitch line shift may be applied to a series of every two (2) lateral planes, a third (1/3) pitch line shift may be applied to a series of every three (3) lateral planes, a quarter (1/4) pitch line shift may be applied to a series of every four (4) lateral planes, and so on. The resulting processed information may be the beam sum receive

lines

212, 222, 312, 322 output from the receive beamformer 120 and communicated to the signal processor 132.

At step 408, the at least one signal processor 132 of the ultrasound system 100 combines the acquired

lateral planes

210, 220, 310, 320 to generate a volumetric composite image in the a-plane. For example, the volume scan converter 140 of the at least one signal processor 132 may create data slices from the receive

lines

212, 222, 312, 322 of the plurality of adjacent

lateral planes

210, 220, 310, 320 based at least in part on the selected or default slice thickness. The created data slices may be provided to a volume rendering processor 150 of the at least one signal processor 132 to perform volume rendering on the data slices. For example, the volume rendering processor 150 may be configured to apply a rendering algorithm configured to process data slices having

lateral planes

210, 220, 310, 320 comprised of laterally offset receive

lines

212, 222, 312, 322 by applying weights to the different

lateral planes

210, 220, 310, 320 based on the nodal line shifts. The rendering algorithm used to generate the volumetric composite image in the a-plane is the VCI rendering algorithm.

At step 410, the at least one signal processor 132 of the ultrasound system 100 displays the volumetric composite image. For example, the volume rendering processor 150 of the at least one signal processor 132 may be configured to present the composite image at the display system 134. In some embodiments, signal processor 132 may be configured to apply video processing and/or other post-processing to the composite image prior to presentation at display system 134. The display system 134 is operable to display a volumetric composite image based on B-mode images generated from a plurality of

lateral planes

210, 220, 310, 320 in the elevation direction, each lateral plane having a set of receive

lines

212, 222, 312, 322 of adjacent

lateral planes

210, 220, 310, 320 are laterally offset by a nodal line shift.

As used herein, the term "circuitry" refers to physical electronic components (i.e., hardware) as well as configurable hardware, any software and/or firmware ("code") executed by and/or otherwise associated with hardware. For example, as used herein, a particular processor and memory may comprise first "circuitry" when executing one or more first codes and may comprise second "circuitry" when executing one or more second codes. As used herein, "and/or" means any one or more of the items in the list joined by "and/or". As an example, "x and/or y" represents any element of the three-element set { (x), (y), (x, y) }. As another example, "x, y, and/or z" represents any element of the seven-element set { (x), (y), (z), (x, y), (x, z), (y, z), (x, y, z) }. The term "exemplary", as used herein, means serving as a non-limiting example, instance, or illustration. As used herein, the terms "e.g., (e.g.)" and "e.g., (for example)" bring forth a list of one or more non-limiting examples, instances, or illustrations. As used herein, a circuit is "operable to" perform a function whenever the circuit includes the necessary hardware and code (if needed) to perform the function, regardless of whether the performance of the function is disabled or not enabled by some user-configurable setting.

Other embodiments may provide a computer-readable device and/or a non-transitory computer-readable medium, and/or a machine-readable device and/or a non-transitory machine-readable medium having stored thereon machine code and/or a computer program having at least one code section executable by a machine and/or a computer, thereby causing the machine and/or the computer to perform steps for increasing the effective line density of a volumetric composite ultrasound image while maintaining the frame rate, penetration depth, and other image characteristics as described herein.

Accordingly, the present disclosure may be realized in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. The present disclosure may be realized in a centralized fashion in at least one computer system, or in a distributed fashion where different elements are spread across several interconnected computer systems. Any kind of computer system or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methods described herein is suited.

Various embodiments may also be embedded in a computer program product, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation of the methods described herein, and which when loaded in a computer system is able to carry out these methods. Computer program in the present context means any expression, in any language, code or notation, of a set of instructions intended to cause a system having an information processing capability to perform a particular function either directly or after either or both of the following: a) conversion to another language, code or notation; b) replication takes place in different physical forms.

While the disclosure has been described with reference to certain embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted without departing from the scope of the disclosure. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the disclosure without departing from the scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the disclosure not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but that the disclosure will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method, the method comprising:

acquiring, by an ultrasound system, a first lateral plane at a first elevated position, the first lateral plane comprising a first set of receive lines located at a first set of lateral positions;

acquiring, by an ultrasound system, a second lateral plane at a second elevated position adjacent to the first elevated position, the second lateral plane comprising a second set of receive lines at a second set of lateral positions laterally offset from the first set of lateral positions;

combining, by at least one signal processor, the first lateral plane and the second lateral plane to generate a composite image; and

presenting, by the at least one processor, the composite image at a display system.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second set of lateral positions is laterally offset from the first set of lateral positions at one-half (1/2) of a lateral line shift pitch.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the second set of lateral positions is laterally offset from the first set of lateral positions at one-third (1/3) or one-quarter (1/4) of a lateral line shift pitch.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first set of receive lines at the first set of lateral locations and the second set of receive lines at the second set of lateral locations are generated by at least one multiline receive beamformer.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first set of receive lines at the first set of lateral locations and the second set of receive lines at the second set of lateral locations are generated by at least one receive beamformer applying look-back transmit beamforming (RTB).

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the composite image is a volumetric composite image in an a-plane generated based at least in part on a Volumetric Composite Imaging (VCI) rendering algorithm.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the composite image is a highly composite image generated based at least in part on a highly composite imaging (ECI) rendering algorithm.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the first set of receive lines are acquired in response to a first set of transmit beams transmitted at a first set of lateral transmit locations, and

the second set of receive lines is acquired in response to a second set of transmit beams transmitted at a second set of lateral transmit positions laterally offset from the first set of lateral transmit positions.

9. An ultrasound system, the ultrasound system comprising:

at least one receive beamformer configured to:

obtaining a first lateral plane at a first elevated position, the first lateral plane comprising a first set of receive lines at a first set of lateral positions; and

obtaining a second lateral plane at a second elevated position adjacent to the first elevated position, the second lateral plane comprising a second set of receive lines at a second set of lateral positions laterally offset from the first set of lateral positions;

at least one signal processor configured to combine the first and second lateral planes to generate a composite image; and

a display system configured to present the composite image.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the second set of lateral positions is laterally offset from the first set of lateral positions at a lateral line shift pitch of one half (1/2), one third (1/3), or one quarter (1/4).

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the at least one receive beamformer is at least one multiline receive beamformer.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the at least one receive beamformer is configured to apply Retrospective Transmit Beamforming (RTB) to acquire the first set of receive lines at the first set of lateral locations and the second set of receive lines at the second set of lateral locations.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the at least one signal processor is configured to apply a Volumetric Composite Imaging (VCI) rendering algorithm to generate the composite image, and wherein the composite image is a volumetric composite image in an a-plane.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the at least one signal processor is configured to apply a highly complex imaging (ECI) rendering algorithm to generate the composite image, and wherein the composite image is a highly complex image.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein the ultrasound system is configured to:

transmitting a first set of transmit beams at a first set of lateral transmit positions to acquire the first set of receive lines, an

Transmitting a second set of transmit beams at a second set of lateral transmit positions laterally offset from the first set of lateral transmit positions to acquire the second set of receive lines.

16. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a computer program having at least one code section executable by a machine to cause an ultrasound system to perform steps comprising:

obtaining a first lateral plane at a first elevated position, the first lateral plane comprising a first set of receive lines at a first set of lateral positions;

combining the first and second lateral planes to generate a composite image; and

presenting the composite image at a display system.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the second set of lateral positions is laterally offset from the first set of lateral positions at a lateral line shift pitch of one half (1/2), one third (1/3), or one quarter (1/4).

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the first set of receive lines at the first set of lateral locations and the second set of receive lines at the second set of lateral locations are generated by applying Retrospective Transmit Beamforming (RTB).

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the composite image is a volumetric composite image in an a-plane generated based at least in part on a Volumetric Composite Imaging (VCI) rendering algorithm.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the composite image is a highly composite image generated based at least in part on a highly composite imaging (ECI) rendering algorithm.